With the mention of most any director, I find myself flooded with thoughts,
feelings and even inspiration, but when it comes to Judd Apatow, the only
thing I'm left with is indifference. I've enjoyed his work on The 40
Year Old Virgin and The Pineapple Express, and examining his
career outside the scope as a director, I'm also thankful for much of his
early writing, both credited and otherwise, as well as his work on
Freaks and Geeks. That being said, there's plenty he's done that
just didn't do anything for me - I didn't care for any of his Will Farrell
starring films, and I found Bridesmaids to be bloated and overrated.
So, despite the fact I know Apatow to be highly capable of delivering the
goods, he's also been highly inconsistent. Still, I had hope when I heard
he'd direct a spin-off sequel to a film that produced gut-busting laughs
while maintaining a healthy dose of reality - Knocked Up. I mean,
some of the best comedy is derived from the situations we all relate to,
and that's exactly where Apatow has excelled the most throughout his career.
This Is 40 promised to deliver along the same lines, but there were
still some concerns that lingered in the back of my mind - Would bringing a
cast of secondary characters to the forefront actually work, and would
Apatow continue his tradition of bloated filmmaking?

Before answering these questions, it's important to understand what This
Is 40 is about, and in short, it's exactly as advertised - Life at 40
with a family and other various responsibilities. Picking up some years
after Knocked Up, Debbie and Pete (Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd
respectively) are seemingly stuck in financial quicksand. Pete's record
label is tanking as a result of his unwillingness to change with the
market, and a string of internal theft leaves Debbie's clothing store to
hemorrhage money they don't really have. Their financial burden is
exacerbated by a mooch of an in-law, and a long lost parent pops into the
mix to perplex their lives that much more... and all this doesn't even take
their normal everyday stress into consideration. Their 13 year old
daughter, Sadie, (Maude Apatow) is at that odd stage of life where
'priorities' are defined as keeping up with the latest and artificial
trends in our pop-culture driven society. Oh, and dramatically acting out
because she feels like her family is ruining her life, of course. On the
opposite end of the spectrum is Charlotte (Iris Apatow), their sweet little
8 year old that's struggling with a sister that's too 'mature' and 'cool'
to give her the time of day, not to mention her argumentative
parents.

Conceptually speaking, it all sounds dry and unoriginal, but Apatow
injecting this premise with a series of relatable issues keeps things
interesting. Not only that, but all of the craziness in their lives never
feels tacked on just for the sake of it, and that's a hard thing for any
director to accomplish with such subject matter. There are plenty of times
where I've watched a flick about a family struggling, and far too often the
end result has been that I wanted to pull my hair out after all was said
and done. The characters would be battered so thoroughly by the time the
end credits rolled, that I was more stressed than entertained. In Apatow's
latest however, he's able to make all of these moving parts play out like a
symphony - Things begin with plenty of laughs, but as the relevant back
story begins to fill us in on the issues that initiate the potential for
their marriage to fall apart, Apatow finds a rhythm that effortlessly pulls
us through all the highs and lows without making them feel like a
burden.

Of course it's all somewhat sensationalized for the sake of entertainment,
but this is the director's most hilarious, yet awkwardly personal film to
date. Rudd and Mann may have been the characters who practically stole the
show in Knocked Up, but they work just as well as the focus in a
full length feature film. Their comedic timing is nothing short of
flawless, but Apatow deserves another pat on the back here as well - The
characters were made by design to bicker in ways that are so brutally
honest with reality, that some people may not want to acknowledge that what
they're seeing on screen actually hits close to home. Hell, I'd be
surprised if there's anyone who's been married a good long while, no matter
how good their marriage is, who won't be able to resonate with at least
some of their quarrels. Again, this is a tricky kind of thing for a
director to balance, but Apatow lets the realism all hang out without ever
having it feel like it's done for shock value (he leaves that for some of
the dirty jokes, which also have a large pinch of truth to them). It's
also kind of funny to realize that these horrible fights tend to make us
laugh in a retrospective sort of way.

And as long as I'm discussing the film's honest yet hilarious approach to
dysfunction, I couldn't wrap things up without mentioning the film's
in-laws, Albert Brooks and John Lithgow, who are entirely believable as the
building blocks for much of Pete and Debbie's ongoing strife. It was also
nice to see Jason Segal back as, well, 'Jason', and Megan Fox was great as
the sleazy, yet loveable floozy. She had a lot of fun playing the role,
and it showed.

Still, despite the fact this is Apatow's best film to date, he still shows
he hasn't mastered the fine art of trimming the fat. There are certain
scenes that feel a little long in the tooth and could have been left on the
cutting room floor without affecting the film as a whole, especially near
the end. In fact, it's almost as if the director wasn't sure how to wrap
everything up in a neat little bow, and although he made a valiant effort
at doing so, it doesn't really fall in line with the film's theme of
exploiting hard truths in a comical way. There's also a plot hole or two,
but they're forgivable enough.

All in all, This Is 40 shows just how far Apatow has come with time
and experience. Looking back, we could see when the director was beginning
to improve on his technique - Although The 40 Year Old Virgin is a
hilariously unforgettable vehicle for Steve Carell, it failed to blend
romance, drama and comedy in a cohesive package. Knocked Up did a
much better job at doing just that, but This Is 40 is where it's
been perfected. As I said before, this is his most personal and revealing
film to date, and stands as one of his finest as a result. Hopefully
Apatow sticks to making more films that highlight realistic portrayals of
everyday life, because his best work has always come out of pulling ideas
from his own personal experiences. Yes, he needs to be a little more
critical with edits in post-production, but this is still an enjoyable film
that nearly everyone can relate to, and even if you can't, it's still
likely to make you laugh until your sides hurt. Honest, hilarious and
heartwarming, This Is 40 comes highly recommended.